Sulphur taper



July 28, '1925. 1,547,876

w. H. KOBBE SULPHUR TAPER Filed Sept. 15. 2

IN VEN TOR Zi 6m, flaw, 4%

17/5 ATTORNEYS Patented July 28, 1925.

UNITED STATES WILLIAM HOFFMAN KOBBE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR '10 TEXAS GULF SULPHUR 1,547,876 PATENT OFFICE.

COMPANY, OF BAY CITY, TEXAS, A. CORPORATION OF TEXAS.

SULPHUR TAPER.

Application filed September 15, 1922. Serial No. 588,335.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, IVILLTAM H. Kounii, a citizen of the United States. residing at New York city, in the county of New York, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sulphur Tapers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to sulphur tapers and has for its object the provision of an improved sulphur taper.

Sulphur tapers are largely used for detecting the presence of ammonia gas, and more particularly the escape of ammonia gas in refrigerating plants, by-product coke ovens, and other systems and apparatus where ammonia is employed or is present.

The sulphur taper consists usually of an appropriate'foundation with which is associated a suitable amount of sulphur. In use, the taper is ignited and the sulphur dioxide gas formed by the combustion of the sulphur is utilized to indicate the presence of ammonia gas and trace the source thereof by the dense white smoke or fumes which results from the chemical union of sulphur di oxide "as and ammonia. Sulphur tapers are also of advantage where it is desired to produce a small quantity of sulphur dioxide gas for any purpose.

Heretofore, sulphur tapers have been generally made with a foundation of cardboard,

yarn, string, or the like. The cardboard foundation is objectionable because the sulphur very readily cracks ofl, and moreover, while burning the sulphur on the cardboard melts and drips. Sulphur tapers made with a foundation of yarn or string are inconvenient to handle because of their flexibility,

and indeed are practically useless, on this account, when it is necessary to poke the taper into diflicultly accessible places.

The present invention contemplates an improved sulphur taper in which the sulphur is appropriately carried by a foundation which is not destroyed at the temperature of burning sulphur, and which preferably retains its orlginal form during the burning of the sulphur. In carrying out this invention I have found a pair of twisted metallic wires with an appropriate fibrous material associated therewith admirably adapted as the foundation for the sulphur taper. The wires constitute a suitable support which is not destroyed or altered in form by the burning of the sulphur, and the fibrous material constitutes an appropriate medium for insuring the adhesion to the wires of the desired quantity of sulphur for the taper.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated what I now regard as the best modes of carrying out the invention. In these drawings,.Figs. 1, 2 and 3 are views of one form of sulphur taper embodying the invention; Figs. 4 and 5 are views of a modified form of the invention; and Fig. 6 is an explanatory view showing one application of the sulphur in detecting the presence of ammonia.

Referring to Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the accompanying drawings, there is represented a pair of relatively small soft steel wires 7 which are employed as the foundation for the taper. The fibrous material 8 which is preferably made from a cheap grade of cotton is secured between the foundation wires 7 by twisting them together in the manner illustrated at the region 9, where the wires have been shown twisted without having the fibrous material between them. As can be seen more clearly in Fig. 2, the fibrous material 8 is laid between wires 7 so that the lengths of the fibers lie transversely with respect to the axis of the foundation. By arrangin the, fibers in this way a maximum wick-1i e attraction for the melted sulphur is obtained so as to better insure against dripping while the taper is being used. This arrangement also facilitates the impregnation of the fibrous material with melted sulphur during the manufacture of the taper.

As shown in Fig. 3 after the foundation 7 with the fibrous material 8 secured thereto has been made, it is dipped in molten sulphur for a suflicient length of time to cause the sulphur to thoroughly penetrate the interstices between the fibers and, upon removal from the molten sulphur bath and subsequent cooling, a relatively large amount of sulphur solidifies within and upon the fibrous material. The temperature of this molten bath should be kept slightly above the melting point of sulphur for the reason that at this temperature the sulphur is in the form of a relatively thin liquid which readily and quickly penetrates and impregnates the fibrous material. The thorough shown at 11.

' but it is advantageous to use a rather loosely twisted thread of relatively large dimensions so as to form a, porous braid about the foundation 12 as indicated by reference numeral 13. It is advantageous to roughen the wire 12 as indicated at.14= in order to assist in retaining the braid upon it.

Either of the forms of sulphur taper described above, as well as other constructions which will appear to those skilled in the art, may be producedby an automatic machine in which, after the fiber has been secured to the foundation the product thus produced is continuously fed through a vessel containing molten sulphur at the proper temperature. In this way the sulphur taper material may be produced continuously and automatically and then be cut up to form tapers of any desired length.

This improved sulphur taper of my invention possesses many advantages over sulphur tapers as previously constructed. In addition to the fact that my improved taper will burn without any dripping of sulphur therefrom, which is in itself a distinct advance over the prior art, it may be used in many places which have hitherto been almost inaccessible. For example, inasmuch as the foundation of this taper is preferably made of soft metallic wire, the taper may easily be bent into any desired shape and the sulphur being secured to the foundation by means of the fibrous material will not crack ofi'; As illustrated in Fig. 6, itmay be bent so as to test for a leak onthe rear side of a pipe or other object. It is, of course, very difficult and in some cases practically impossible to test for leaks located in such places as this with the sulphur tapers in use at present because they do not posusually are limp and difficult to manage.

Another feature of my sulphur taper which results from the employment of a relatively rigid foundation is its ability to be reverse-d; that is, after the taper has burned half way out, the person using it can grasp the end of the wire foundation from which the inflammable material has been burned and by thus holding it the whole taper may be consumed' Sulphur tapers made in accordance with this invention will be found to burn for a much greater length of time per unit of length and diameter than the tapers of the prior art for the reason that it is possible to put a greater amount of sulphur into a taper of given size when they are constructed in this manner.

I claim 1. As a new article of manufacture, a sulphur taper comprising a flexible filamentous foundation which remains rigid at the temperature of burning sulphur, and a fibrous material secured thereon, said material be ing impregnated with sulphur.

2. As a new article of manufacture, a sulphur taper comprising a flexible filamentous foundation which retains its shape at the temperature of burnin sulphur, and sulphur combined with a fibrous material and secured on said flexible filamentous foundation.

3. As a new article of manufacture, a sulphur taper comprising sulphur appropriately combined with a material which burns at the' temperature of burning sulphur and carried on a foundation which retains a predetermined shape at the temperature of burning sulphur.

4:. Asa new article of manufacture, a sulphur taper comprising a foundation of metallic wire, and a fibrous material secured thereon and impregnated with sulphur.

5. As anew article of manufacture, a sulphur taper comprising a combustible fibrous material twisted between a pair of metallic wires and impregnated with sulphur;

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

WILLIAM HOFFMAN KOBBE. 

